Oral Answers to Questions

Bridget Phillipson Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

This was part of the consultation on business rate retention and is being considered at the moment.

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

T10. As the Secretary of State will know, the north-east still has the highest unemployment rate in the UK, with far too many people desperate to find secure work. Is this what the Government mean by a northern powerhouse, or have Ministers abandoned the idea altogether?

[Damian Green]

Ministers have absolutely not abandoned the idea of the northern powerhouse, as I am sure the hon. Lady knows, but we are also equally determined that the benefits of the high employment, low unemployment regime we have established over recent years are spread to all regions of the country, including her own. We will continue the very successful work that we have done in that field over the past six years during the course of this Parliament.